The
Holy Gospel According to St. Mark 9:38-41: Earth
Day Sunday
John said to him, "teacher, we saw someone casting
out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him,
because he was not following us." But Jesus said,
"Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of
power in my name will be able soon afterward to
speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for
us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup
of water to drink because you bear the name of
Christ will by no means lose the reward."
The Gospel of the
Lord . . .
For Water! For Jesus!
As I have thought
about this passage of Mark's Gospel in the light
of this Second Sunday of Easter -- and its being
Earth Day Sunday with a particular focus on the
gift of water . . . I was intrigued to consider
how it is that we are the recipients of the gift
of abundant water resources and how it is that we
might bless others with the gift of water. To be
sure, the Gospel text, and it challenges us to
think about the receiving of the gift of a cup of
water from someone who may not have heard the
story about Jesus! Or who may not have the
Abundance of Water resources that we enjoy every
day here!
In our lesson
today, There is a kind of role reversal present in
the text that we are not familiar with nor
accustomed to -- For we are more familiar with the
verses that speak of us giving water to a
stranger, and that giving to the stranger is a
form of giving to Christ. ("Anyone who gives a cup
of water to the least of these my bothers or
sisters, has given it unto me")
Since today is
Earth Day Sunday we will be considering some of
these thoughts along with some essential thinking
about the practical realities facing all people
and all creatures of the earth, and the issues
related to Fresh Water, which is becoming
increasingly scarce for many reasons.
Let us consider
the two themes of the text and see if there might
be some connections made between the disciple's
thoughts about others who do good works in Jesus'
name and Jesus' concern that the works are done,
even on our behalf as Christians -- Bearers of the
Gospel!
The matter of the
unnamed exorcist (or miracle worker) from Mark's
letter, does indeed open up some interesting
possibilities when we pair the act of delivering a
person or persons from some manifestation of evil,
which could be a physical illness or a mental
illness, -- OR without too much of a stretch,
could include that the Stranger's acts of
deliverance were for people suffering from the
demons of drought and thirst --
The demons of
drought and thirst are certainly realistic
hardships faced by billions of people in the world
today and has always been a hardship for people
who living in the region of the Middle East!
In fact, as I
have been preparing this sermon over the past few
weeks there have been newspaper headlines that
tell of the desperate need to restore drinking
water and irrigation systems in the war torn
countries of Afghanistan and Iraq so that these
people will have necessity of a dependable water
source -- the source of all prospering and life.
At this level of
thinking in our Gospel passage, it becomes clear
that Anyone who can Offer Aid to persons who
suffer from the maladies related to water problems
such as: Lack of rain, Wells gone dry, Crops not
growing, or Contamination of fresh water supplies
. . . anyone who helps people with these problems
is considered to be among those who are "FOR
JESUS!!"
"No one who does
a deed of power in my name will be able soon
afterward to speak evil of me. And Whoever is not
against us is for us."
My friend, Pastor
Sam Schmittenhenner, a former missionary to India,
recently told me about an indigenous Pastor friend
of his in India who traveled from village to
village and saw many hundreds of children who were
becoming ill and dying because of the poor quality
of drinking water in those places. This Pastor,
who was familiar with our text today, declared,
after seeing the plight of the children, that
"Anyone who showed pity on the children of the
poor, no matter if they were Hindu, Muslim, or
Buddhist, when they helped to improve the
condition of the disease ridden water -- these
persons were doing the work of Jesus!" This Pastor
preached this message everywhere he went --
whether his audience was conscious of their
affiliation with the spirit of Jesus or not!!
And so we recall
that Jesus declares, "Whoever is not against us is
for us!" And here there is a great openness toward
all who are doers of the Word, and acting in the
Spirit of Christ. Therefore, there is affirmation
that people, whoever they may be, whenever they
perform acts that affirm the Life Giving and Life
Preserving power of the Gospel, these men and
women are doing the work of God!!
I recall learning
my own lesson about the gift of water, when at age
18, I went on a quest to seek and to discover the
goodness or the negativity of humanity as it might
be found by traveling by pedal power (!) for two
and a half months. Interestingly enough, while on
this journey I discovered the kindness of numerous
strangers who allowed me not only to fill my water
bottles along the way, but they invited me into
their homes and offered gifts of food or other
forms of hospitality. Even more interesting was
the manner in which many of these individuals and
families went on to share their Christian faith
with me . . . and before I knew what ^^ "God"^^
was up to -- I was sharing what God had done for
me with others! Perhaps you have also been on the
giving or the receiving end of the gift of water
too! SPIRITUALLY and MATERIALLY! For the Spiritual
gift of water refreshes the Soul even as the
Material gift of water renews the Body and keeps
us alive and satisfied.
Jesus is saying
that carrying out humane actions affirms the
essential goodness of the Gospel Message . . .
these works equate with Being "For Jesus!!" And
Being "For Jesus" is to be - - -
For Actions that
speak to issues of justice and concern for others
-- especially those others who are without power
or means to care for or protect themselves. And
this becomes our Christian concern for the Keeping
and Conserving Earth's Fresh Water Resources . . .
And indeed our concern for the health and
Flourishing of all of God's Creation on which
humanity is completely and Equally dependent!!
What an
interesting twist that Mark provides. We go out to
do good works in the name of Christ, works of
healing, sharing our wealth, providing a helping
hand, or providing a word of comfort or wisdom . .
. works of power and deliverance. And while we go
out in Jesus name, we are in turn, blessed by
others who reveal their acceptance of our being in
Christ by giving of what they have. Something as
simple and basic as the gift of Fresh Water
becomes the medium for establishing trust and the
basis for relationship . . . eventually and
ideally, this leads to the mutual sharing of the
Good News that Christ is the Risen Lord and fresh
new faith is born -- instead of dried up spirits
or withered souls caught in a drought of despair
without Jesus and without hope. But as a result of
the miraculous exchange, a cup of earthly water
for the message about the Water that Wells up to
Eternal Life: New waters will be poured in the
rite of Baptism, and by Living Water a fresh life
giving entrance is made into the Church!
Alleluia!!
And to think that
all of this is brought about by the intermingling
of WATER and the WORD!!
So why have a
focus on water for this year's Earth Day
celebration?? I mean, after all, 70% of the Earth
is covered with the stuff anyway -- we are the Big
Blue Ball, the Water World Planet -- Right??
What's the Big Deal??
Well, the human
population is growing exponentially at an all time
high even as surface and ground water resources
around the globe are rapidly declining and
precious fresh water resources continue to be
contaminated, depleted, used up, or possessed by
privatized interests who desire control of access
in the name of Profits and net worth! How CAN this
BE in the light of the Gospel and of the JUSTICE
of God? For we are called, even IMPELLED by the
power of the Gospel to Keep Free Access to Fresh,
Clean Drinking Water as a Basic Human Right for
every man, woman, and child and for every Creature
in Creation!! This may require us to Speak Out in
times soon to come; before the gift of water
becomes another controlled commodity and the Human
Institutions of Profit and Control cause new
rivers of human suffering . . .
From today's
lesson we have learned that Mark's Gospel draws us
into the connection where both acts of Physical
Deliverance and the Reward for sharing the Saving
message of the Gospel are drawn into a
Love-affirming parallel where the medium of the
positive exchange is either Jesus or Water. Both
are life giving, and life sustaining. By water we
make our entrance into the world, then through
water and faith and Spirit we are also given the
Second Birth, into God's family The Church.
Through His own life giving Water -- Jesus gives
us life, both now and for all of eternity.
Thus, at this
special time in the Church Year we pause to give
thanks for all of the natural and spiritual values
we have in the goodness of water. And we are
reminded to take care that both the physical
access and spiritual access to water remain wide
open to all people and all of creation. Thanks be
to God for the gifts of Water.
May the peace of
Christ fill us to overflowing with the abundance
of his mercy and grace both now and forevermore.
Amen
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